Riley Garcia (u/rileygarcia)

Posts

Noticed my pruning cuts got way better after I slowed down

Last week I was trimming a big oak near Austin and realized I've been rushing my cuts for years. Three years ago I would just hack through branches to get the job done fast. Last month a customer pointed out some stubs I left behind and it really made me think. Now I take an extra 30 seconds per cut to find the collar and make a clean angle. Has anyone else found that going slower actually saves time on callbacks?

4 comments

c/conspiracy-debates•

rileygarcia•10d ago

The chemtrail guy at my local park actually had some good points about atmospheric sampling

After he showed me the EPA's own data on barium levels in rainwater collected near airports I spent 3 hours digging through government PDFs and now I'm not sure what to believe, has anyone else looked into this stuff?

3 comments

c/diy-home-projects•

rileygarcia•12d ago

My father-in-law said I was crazy for using a level on every stud

He's been framing houses since the 80s and never uses one, just eyeballs it. Last weekend I helped him finish a wall in his garage and we hung drywall on it - three of the seams were so wavy we had to shim the corners. After 2 hours of extra sanding he finally admitted maybe I wasn't totally wrong. Has anyone else had an old-timer tell you their shortcut is better but it ends up costing more time?

4 comments

c/ai-art-debate•

rileygarcia•14d ago

Watched a friend's AI art win a contest and felt weird about it

Last Saturday at the county fair, my buddy entered a landscape he made with Midjourney. Took him maybe 20 minutes of tweaking prompts. It won second place and $150. Meanwhile there's a watercolor painter next to him who spent two weeks on her piece and got nothing. Just felt off. The judge said it was about 'composition and feeling' not process. But isn't the process part of what makes art art? Has anyone else seen AI work slip into traditional shows like this?

3 comments

c/camping-gear-reviews•

rileygarcia•1mo ago

My tent pole snapped on day two of a week long trip in the Smokies

I was on a solo hike near Gatlinburg and a big gust of wind bent my main aluminum pole so bad it cracked. Tried using duct tape and a stick but it just sagged and collapsed again around 2am. It took me over an hour the next morning to find a repair sleeve at a ranger station. Has anyone else had to fix a broken pole on the trail and what got you through the night?

3 comments

c/alberta-homeowners•

rileygarcia•1mo ago

Serious question: is spray foam insulation actually worth the hassle?

I paid $4,200 to have my attic done with closed cell spray foam back in March. Now my upstairs bedroom smells like burnt plastic every time the sun hits the roof for more than 3 hours. The installer says it's just 'off-gassing' and to wait it out. Has anyone else dealt with this kind of odor months later or did I waste my money on a bad crew?

3 comments

c/camera-repairers•

rileygarcia•1mo ago

Worst week in the shop: flooded basement from a burst pipe took out 4 Leica bodies and a Hasselblad waiting for CLA

After that disaster I finally caved and bought a water alarm system from a plumber buddy in Denver, and now I'm actually glad I did because it already caught a tiny drip under the sink last Tuesday.

3 comments

c/astronomy-photos•

rileygarcia•1mo ago

Talked to a guy at a star party who made me rethink my whole rig

Was out near Joshua Tree last Saturday with my 8 inch Dob. This older guy rolls up with a beat up refractor from the 90s. He tells me aperture is overrated if your skies are trash. Pointed at his scope and said I've seen more with this in Bortle 3 than you will with that thing in Bortle 7. Hit me hard because I drive two hours to dark sites but still bring light pollution with me in my habits. Anyone else ever get schooled by some random dude with old gear?

3 comments

c/butchers•

rileygarcia•1mo ago

Finally saw real improvement in my knife sharpening after 6 months

I've been a butcher for about a year now and my edges always felt okay but never great. Last week I finally got a burr to form consistently on both sides of the blade without any skipping. Any tips for keeping that edge longer between sharpening sessions?

3 comments

c/botany-lovers•

rileygarcia•1mo ago

My neighbor was wrong about moving peonies

Old man across the street kept telling me I had to move my peonies every 5 years or they stop blooming. I believed him for 3 years. Finally asked the master gardener at the county extension office in Grand Rapids. She laughed and said peonies can go 50 years in one spot if they're happy. Mine were just buried too deep. Dug them up, reset the crowns an inch below soil, and they exploded this spring. Has anyone else gotten bad gardening advice from a well-meaning neighbor?

3 comments